Manitoba Pipestone - Aboriginal News Briefs - April 2014

Opportunity
Fund helps inner-city students

Boston
Pizza representatives Andrew Shefchyk, director of marketing, and Richard
Enright, franchise Boston Pizza Manitoba, along with Winnipeg Police Chief
Devon Clunis and members of the Winnipeg Police Service, presented University
of Winnipeg President and Vice-Chancellor Dr. Lloyd Axworthy with a cheque for
$35,000 to support the Winnipeg Police Service Opportunity Scholarship in
Honour of Injured and Fallen Officers. It is their fourth donation which brings
the fund to $95,000.  The
Opportunity Fund provides two annual renewable scholarships of $2,500 each to
support educational opportunities for students from North End and inner-city
Winnipeg high schools. “We created the Opportunity Fund in 2007 to begin
closing the graduation gap by supporting youth who have traditionally been
under-represented in post-secondary education,” said Axworthy.
Photo:
University of Winnipeg

The
proposed $6.2 billion Keeyask Generating Station, which is being developed by
Manitoba Hydro in partnership with four Manitoba First Nations, is included in
a memorandum of understanding with Great River Energy in Minnesota, a U.S.
co-operative. The deal, which would start around 2020, could see the
partnership sending up to 600 megawatts of electricity to Minnesota and
Wisconsin. The expansion has come under criticism by the Manitoba Metis
Federation. In a news release, the MMF charges the provincial government with
“manipulating the approval process to get the results it wants” and says
Manitobans are subsidizing the cost of the sale. The news release further
states that “MMF has uncovered the manipulation in two hearings so no one can
get an accurate picture of the preferred development plan’s costs and its
impacts on Metis and all Manitobans.”

Congress
of Aboriginal Peoples National Chief Betty Lavallee was in Winnipeg on March 13
as part of her cross-country tour. The goal of the National Grassroots
Engagement Tour is to hear directly from off-reserve Aboriginal peoples,
organizations and provincial, municipal and federal officials. “Hearing from
people in their own community is by far the best way to get a better
understanding on topics that affect Aboriginal peoples living off-reserve, such
as education, training, business, employment, and safe housing,” said Lavallee
in a news release. She was accompanied by National Vice-Chief Ron Swain.

Manitoba
Music has brought back its popular mentor program for Aboriginal artists. Two
mentors began working this spring with Aboriginal songwriters and musicians
primarily in Winnipeg and area. One-hour mentor consultations and presentations
are free of charge and available on a first-come, first-served basis. Past
mentors have included Desiree Dorion, Don Amero, Tracy Bone, Vince Fontaine,
and RoseAnna Schick.  The
Aboriginal Music Program AMP Mentors was launched to engage new and emerging
First Nation, Inuit, and Métis songwriters and musicians in the province. AMP
was launched in 2004.

The
University of Winnipeg recently hosted Cultures Disrupted: The Legacy Of
Residential Schools and Language Loss Symposium aimed at educating youth. The
half-day event included stories and experiences of residential school survivors
and the legacy of language loss. It was followed by moderated discussions that
included the commissioners of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of
Canada, along with broadcaster and UWinnipeg’s Director of Indigenous
Inclusion, Wab Kinew; UWinnipeg professor, Indigenous Studies, Dr. Lorena
Fontaine; and University of Sudbury assistant professor, Indigenous Studies,
Dr. Brock Pitawanakwat.